Making the most of your "season"

We live in a culture where everyone seems to be moving at warp speed. Always on to the next season of life and forgetting to actually take the time to enjoy the season they are in.

When it seems normal to be constantly busy, I find myself wanting to hit pause. I want to slow down and make the most of the season I am in right now, which is a constant battle for this Type A, list making, calendar crossing off gal.

I remember when Drew and I started talking about getting engaged way back when. We had been dating since high school, so for almost 7 years and people were asking me constantly about marriage. I got to a place where I was no longer fully enjoying the dating season because I was anticipating the being engaged season. Honestly it stressed me out and probably stressed Drew out too. I had to let go of that or it would have stolen a lot more joy from our dating season. And if you didn't figure it out already, we did in fact get engaged and then married. Phew.

The same thing happened as our 5 year wedding anniversary approached. People started asking when we were going to have kids. I felt so much pressure and I missed out on part of a season in our marriage. And all because I felt this pressure and sense of urgency to move ahead like everyone else.

Now the same pressures are threatening to creep back in. I'm not exaggerating when I say that almost every single Mama that was pregnant at the same time as me is now pregnant with baby #2. But I am determined to not let this stress me out and instead I am going to choose to enjoy the season I am in as a wife and also as a Mama to one sweet boy.

We miss out on so much when we try to fast forward through seasons of our story.

I think it is so incredibly important to make the most of the season you are in, even if it is a hard one. After I had a miscarriage and then got pregnant with Aiden, I was scared. All I wanted to do was fast forward through my pregnancy and just have a healthy baby in my arms. But if I had wished all that time away during that season I would have missed out on so much joy, so much personal growth, so much of my story.

Don't try to get ahead of God in your season. Whatever season you are in, try to embrace it.

Here are a few things that have been helping me to make the most of the season I am in...

1.) Make a list of things you want to do in this particular season and start doing them! Focus on making your time in this season meaningful and purposeful.

2.) Reflect about the season you are in and spend some time thanking God for the things He is doing in this season of your life. When you seek out reasons you have to be thankful, your attitude and level of contentment go up. It's a fact.

3.) Begin to pray for direction and guidance in your season and the ones to come. Instead of wishing you were in your next season, pray about it and ask God how He can use you in your season of waiting. I read this prayer from Lysa Terkeurst the other day when she was sharing about how oftentimes she views a waiting period in her life to be a dead end, when really it is just a pause. "Heavenly Father, I confess that all to often I confuse pauses with end points. Remind me that my thoughts are not Your thoughts and my ways are not Your ways. Help me to not run ahead of You, but instead fully seek You. I trust that Your plan and timing are perfect. In Jesus' name, amen."

If you are stuck in a season and wishing it would just hurry up and end, try to make the most of this season. It has lessons to offer you and the older I get, the less I want to wish my precious time away.

If you are in a hard season and would like some prayer, I'd be happy to pray for you. 

God has you in this season for a time and will help you navigate through it!{nestfuloflove@gmail.com}

There's always something to be thankful for

Thank you all so much for your sweet words about my Grandpa. I will be traveling to Kentucky today to be with family and celebrate his life. Amidst all the emotions and sadness this week has brought there is always something to be thankful for...

I'm thankful for 28 wonderful years with my grandpa and for all he taught me

I'm thankful for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

I'm thankful for a job that I love and for co-workers and parents who encourage me

I'm thankful for holiday craft shows and dear friends

I'm thankful for a supportive and loving family

I'm thankful for new curtains

I'm thankful for the colors of fall

I'm thankful that the sun rises each day

I'm thankful that my favorite comfort food is only 5 minutes away (Chipotle of course)

I'm thankful for a husband who lets my cry on his shoulder

I'm thankful for a God who cares so much about his children

"Your love is faithful Lord and even the clouds in the sky can depend on you. Your decisions are always fair. They are firm like the mountains, deep like the sea, and all people and animals are under your care. Your love is a treasure, and everyone finds shelter in the shadow of your wings."

Psalms 36:5-7

Make every moment count and always, always be thankful!

"Go lower"

                                                                          Source: singingintherain.tumblr.com via Allison on Pinterest

Working with little kids every day I get to see their faces light up daily over the smallest things like new sharp crayons, being the teacher's assistant, pizza for lunch in the cafeteria, a letter from their teacher or a game of Math Baseball. I truly feel blessed to be around children all day for this reason among many others, but reading chapter 9 of Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts made me even more thankful for their endearing smiles and their sweet perspective on life. Kids really are smarter than we give them credit for!

As we get older, life seems more mundane. We have our routines and we end up putting God in a box along with all of our expectations. We go to work, we have to cook and do laundry, we have to worry about bills and home repairs. We forget how big and how amazing our world is and how amazing God is! "How much larger your life would be if your self could become smaller in it?" Remember when you first saw the ocean, had your first kiss or first tasted Nutella? It is "the joy of small that makes life large." We need to "go lower" and cultivate a perspective of smallness again. It is only when we live a humble life of constant surprise and gratitude that we can experience true joy. "God blesses the humble, for they will inherit the whole earth." (Matthew 5:5) So this week I'm going to watch my students and learn from them!

Don't forget to check out these wonderful gals thoughts on chapter 9 as well!

Emily from Meme & He
Tara from A Brew of Blessings
Katie from Hope Engaged
Kristen from Love, Done Simply

2-0-1-3...the year of being thankful for what I already have!

My 2013 goals all stem from all I've been learning from Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts. Through all my Thankful Thursday posts I realized how truly important it is to be thankful in all circumstances. This year I want to make the most of what I already have and be more intentional in savoring the everyday moments.

This year...
*I'm going to be thankful for our teaching salaries (even though they may be small)
2013 is the year of budgeting in the Renner house. Yes, my husband and I are starting a budget and you know what? I'm actually excited about it. We have our excel spreadsheet made and we are going to have fun getting creative with our spending!
*I'm going to be thankful for the clothes that are already hanging up in my closet
2013 is the year of remixing. I'm going to try to buy only the necessities and use what I already have in new and fun ways. That might mean you will see a few more fashion posts around here to help inspire me! 
*I'm going to be thankful for H20
2013 is the year of slowly cutting out pop from my diet. It will be a slow process, but it starts now.
*I'm going to be thankful for the body God has given me
2013 is the year of getting my booty back in to gear. I'm going to attempt to work out 2-3 days a week. Whether that's doing a 30 Day Shred DVD, a Zumba class or simply getting outside to take a walk I just want to be more active!
*And last, I'm going to be thankful for a God who I can trust to take care of all of my needs

I already have a good feeling about 2013 and what God is going to do in my life. I'm excited to be more intentional about being thankful for all that I have been given.

So what does that mean for the blog? In 2013 you will be seeing me get creative by giving old things new uses along with finding out all the tips and tricks there are when it comes to living on a budget. I'm excited about what that will look like! Happy 2013!

Thankful Thursdays Part 6-Chronic Soul Amnesia

This week's chapter in Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts was on our tendency to forget to see God's glory in our everyday lives. "The whole earth is full of His glory. Sky, land and sea, heavy and saturated with God-why do I always forget?" (page 106)

So often people see the creation, but forget all about the creator. Think about it...God created all the things you love most in the world. Your favorite flavors and foods, your family, the clouds, your cute little furbaby, the ocean, the tree you love to sit under and read...and when we look at those things do we see God's glory? Voskamp compares us to the Israelites wandering in the desert. God had just freed them from slavery in Egypt, but then they got hungry and scared and began complaining again about a new set of troubles. How quickly they forgot what God had just rescued them from. God had to constantly remind them that he loved them and would take care of them. We are the same way. God provides for us everyday and then we just forget about all he has done or choose not to see it...Voskamp calls it "chronic soul amnesia." (page 106)

                                                                                Source: citified.blogspot.com via Allison on Pinterest

I really connect with God when I am out in his creation. Seeing a colorful sunset, a hawk above me on a telephone pole, big puffy snowflakes landing on the ground, the stars shining, a harvest moon...all of these things make me realize how much bigger the world is than just me and how amazing our creator is for making these things for our pleasure.  We just have to choose to see it. What will you see God's glory in today?

Be sure to check out these lovely ladies thoughts on the chapter as well...

Emily from Meme & He
Tara from A Brew of Blessings
Katie from Hope Engaged
Kristen from Love, Done Simply

Thankful Thursday Part 5

Even though I'm a little late in posting, I couldn't let a Thankful Thursday pass me by. If you've been following along, I've been reading Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts along with some other wonderful bloggers to help remind us to be thankful for the small things.

Every week I think wow this is some good stuff and then the next week comes along and the book just keeps going deeper and tugging at more of my heart strings. This week is a reflection on Chapter 5, which was all about our suffering. I don't think anyone enjoys the pain or suffering that comes with living in this world. So many people look to God when they are suffering and ask "why would you let this happen?" Or "how could a loving God not stop this..." The truth I gleaned from this chapter was that "God is always good and I am always loved" no matter how much pain and suffering I have to endure. "It is suffering that has the realest possibility to bear down and deliver grace." (page 97) So many people question God's existence and love when they go through a hard time, but what about all the good times God has given us that we don't even come close to deserving? If you are going to question God, why not question who he is when you see the sunrise, eat your favorite food or see the smile of the person you love most?

Despite people's perception of God, He"does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow" (Lamentations 3:3) When we go through a time of suffering we need to use Jesus as our example of how to handle it..."take the pain that is given, give thanks for it, and transform it into joy that fulfills all emptiness." This is much harder than it sounds and even as I type it, it seems crazy, but the only way we can get through suffering and make our way back to joy is to give it to God and know he is using it in some way for his glory.

This chapter was a lot to swallow, but was so good for me to read. If this is something you struggle with I would let Ann do the talking and read the book for yourself because I don't do it justice! Be sure to check out these lovely ladies take on the chapter as well...

Emily from Meme & He
Tara from A Brew of Blessings
Katie from Hope Engaged
Kristen from Love, Done Simply

And since I am so very thankful for all of you I'm hosting a holiday giveaway...the last day to enter is tomorrow!

Thankful Thursday Part 4...and a way to help a family in need

This week our sweet little book club is reflecting on Chapter 4 of Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts. Even though the Thanksgiving holiday is over I still have so much to learn about being thankful and this book along with the girls reading it with me continue to be such a blessing. This week's chapter really spoke to me. It was about how we use the time that we are given. "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." -JRR Tolkien (Lord of the Rings anyone?)

So many times I catch myself rushing around from one thing to the next...always in a hurry...always looking ahead, but ultimately missing out on so many moments right in front of me. "Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of rushing..." (page 65) It makes me sad to think of all the things I've missed out on because I was in such a hurry and for what? When you are rushing around from thing to thing your not living fully as God intended. "I only live the full life when I live fully in the moment." (page 68)

I never feel like there are enough hours in the day for me to do everything I need to do...grade papers, lesson plan, cook dinner, do laundry, spend time with my husband, catch up with friends and family, blog, workout, etc. but I need to be thankful in each moment that I am in because thanksgiving creates abundance. When there wasn't enough food for a crowd, instead of rushing around, worrying that there wasn't enough or giving up and moving on, Jesus simply gave thanks for what he was given and provided more than enough for the crowd. (John 6:11) We need to do the same thing: give thanks for what we are given and trust that God will take care of the rest.

I was scanning through my blog list last night and I came to Erin's blog and read about Issac. My heart aches for this young boy who is battling brain cancer for the second time. I can't imagine all his parents are facing right now, but I do know they are living out each moment they have left with their son. I know they are thinking about all the happy times they have shared and that they are cherishing every second they are still together on this Earth. Erin is wanting to blow this family away with cards, prayers, donations, etc. so take a minute to check out her blog or donate below.

Whether we are given a few short years to live or 100, the way we spend our time makes all the difference. Soak in all the moments instead of letting them pass you by in a hurry. Stop and give thanks randomly throughout the day for things you might normally take for granted. Every day, every minute, every second is a gift.

Emily from Meme & He
Tara from A Brew of Blessings
Katie from Hope Engaged
Kristen from Love, Done Simply

Thankful Thursdays Part 3

                                                                       Source: humanitiesusa.files.wordpress.com via Sharon on Pinterest

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I hope your day is full of delicious food, loving family, memorable traditions and most importantly thankfulness. I'm in Nashville with family, but in keeping up with my latest Thursday tradition I'm posting today about the next Chapter in Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts. Thankfully it ties right into the very essence of this day...a day to focus on giving thanks.  Last night when we were all bustling around prepping food, practicing how to fold a fancy napkin and talking about our Thanksgiving meal, my brother in law jokingly told us to get ready because at the dinner table we were going to have to name what we are most thankful for...and it had to be unique. For many of us naming what we are most thankful for is a tradition around the dinner table on Thanksgiving, but what if we made it a daily practice?

Ann Voskamp made a daily habit of listing out even the smallest things she was thankful for. When she remembered to say thank you for the small things she felt God swell up in her life. "God is not in need of magnifying by us so small, but the reverse. It's our lives that are little and we have falsely inflated self, and in thanks we decrease and the world returns right..." (page 59) God gives us gifts each day and we can choose to unwrap them or not. Today when you are working in the kitchen, give thanks for the little things...the food processor that works, the oven that keeps food warm, the refrigerator with double doors, the many hands wanting to help. When you are gathered around the table give thanks for the little things...the smile of the person you love, the warm food being passed around, the freshly whipped cream on the pumpkin pies, the hand of the person you are holding during the prayer. And when today is over...continue to give thanks for the little things because each little thing is a gift from God...a little piece of joy waiting to be unwrapped.

Emily from Meme & He
Tara from A Brew of Blessings
Katie from Hope Engaged
Kristen from Love, Done Simply

Thankful Thursdays Part 2

Africa Trip 2007

If you missed Part 1 of Thankful Thursdays you can check it out here. On to Chapter 2...this chapter was about the relationship between true joy and gratitude. The two are inseparable. You can not live a full life of joy without gratitude. "The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live..." (page 33) Jesus knows more than anyone about pain and suffering. He had to anticipate it, then go through it for us who don't deserve it and with less than 12 hours to go before his crucifixion he chose to give thanks. This blows my mind, but it also makes so much sense. Why waste all our worries and become bitter about something when God always sees the bigger picture and has our best interest in mind? Shouldn't we thank Him in advance for what he is going turn our suffering into? We need to be thankful for the good along with the bad.

"Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives. Thanksgiving is the manifestation of our Yes! to his grace." (page 39) I have to be honest...I had to re-read this chapter a few times to let the power of it sink in. I started thinking about the concept of being thankful in ALL circumstances as it tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 and you guys this is a hard, hard concept! I can think of so many circumstances where people might wonder where God was or why God didn't stop something from happening, but giving thanks in everything prepares the way that God might show us His fullest salvation in Christ. "These things prepare the way for God to show us his fullest salvation from bitter, angry, resentful lives and from all sin that estranges us from Him." God loves each one of his children so much and we have to trust His plan for us!

When I think about the times in my life that have been the toughest I can look back on most of them and say I'm thankful that I went through them because I learned something or I grew closer to God because of it. When I graduated and couldn't find a teaching job to save my life I grew closer to God than I ever had. I spent hours in the hammock in my parent's backyard pleading with God and asking Him what He had planned for me. Months went by and instead of a job I got the opportunity to go to Africa on a mission trip with Drew. If I had gotten a job when I thought I needed one, I never would have been able to take 2 weeks off to go on a trip like that! And now I have a job that I love and I wouldn't trade that year without one for anything! Speaking of joy...if the picture below isn't true joy I don't know what is. And that head in the bottom right corner...that's mine. One of my favorite memories of Africa was an African dance party where this woman chose me to be her dancing partner! These people had almost nothing and they taught me more about being thankful than anyone.

So if you skimmed down here's what I wrote above in a nutshell: Joy and gratitude are strongly tied together, you can't live a full life without being thankful in all circumstances! Don't forget to check out these wonderful gals thoughts on chapter 2 as well!

Emily from Meme & He
Tara from A Brew of Blessings
Katie from Hope Engaged
Kristen from Love, Done Simply

Thankful Thursdays Part 1

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Today's a day I have been looking forward to for a while now...the start of Thankful Thursdays! I'm reading Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts along with some other truly amazing girls. So here are my thoughts on the first chapter, which had a focus on the affects of our Ingratitude.



This time of year the focus is on being thankful for what we have. When Thanksgiving rolls around it is pretty easy to find something to be thankful for, but do we do this in our everyday lives all year long? Sadly, I know most of us don't (including me). For some reason it is soooooo much easier to complain, question and look at what we don't have. Something God has really laid on my heart these last few weeks is how much our ingratitude causes a big separation between us and him. He wants more than anything to be close to us and when he doesn't give us exactly what we think we need we push him away. In Ann's book she talks about the lie that Satan speaks to us that God is holding out on us when we don't get everything we think we should have. He has been telling us since the Garden of Eden that "God isn't good...that God withholds good from His children...that he doesn't genuinely, fully, love us." (page 14) Knowing that people actually feel this way breaks my heart. We all face trials that cause us to question everything, but the one thing I have always known to be true is that God is in control and I am so grateful for that.

1 Corinthians 2:7 says "His secret purpose from the very beginning is to bring us to our full glory." Whatever God allows to happen is for his glory and to draw us closer to him. "There's a reason I am not writing the story and God is. He knows how it all works out, where it all leads, what it all means." (page 21) There are so many situations that happen in this world that I don't understand, but the thing is I don't have to. When bad things happen Ann encourages her readers to think about them as "holes"to see God through. You can choose to let a bad situation paralyze you or you can use the situation to grow closer to God. To me the choice is easy...let go of what you are holding on to and give it to God. He is good, his promises are true and he wants to help us rise to our full glory!

And that's just chapter 1...I'm so looking forward to the rest of my journey through this book and if you want to read along I highly recommend this book!

Don't forget to check out these wonderful gals thoughts on chapter 1 as well!

Emily from Meme & He
Tara from A Brew of Blessings
Katie from Hope Engaged
Kristen from Love, Done Simply